1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a module support for containers having outwardly extending access panels. The invention provides, in particular, a common module support for creating an array from two or more container modules. The invention may be advantageously utilized as a stand alone display for floor, shelf, and/or counter placement. The invention may also be hung using hanging means, e.g., double-sided adhesives, hook and loop fastening means, and hook and aperture means.
2. Related Background Art
Product manufacturers and distributers, hereinafter “sellers”, sell a majority of their products in retail and wholesale stores. Since product display space in these stores is often limited and densely occupied, sellers compete for space on store shelves, floors, walls, columns, and counters. Further, since high product visibility and ease of product accessibility are major factors in product sales, sellers also compete for certain areas on shelves, floors, and the like. As a result, consumer eye level and other high visibility areas in stores are highly sought after. Unfortunately, high visibility display space is even more limited than general display space.
The inability of a product seller to secure product placement in high visibility areas may lead to lack of consumer awareness of the sellers' product, reduced sales, and loss of sales revenue. Low product sales may lead to a product being “pulled” from store shelves in order to make space available for presumed better selling products. Limited store space leads to other problems as well, including reduced product carry away ease in the case of products placed in out-of-the-way or cramped areas.
Sellers have attempted to address product visibility problems by providing product containers with artwork that makes the containers more readily visible by the consumer. Now, however, since nearly all sellers utilize the same methods of making their products more visible, individual containers again become unobvious amidst a virtual sea of brightly decorated product cartons.
Aside from shelves, stores have several areas for display that are un- or underutilized, e.g., walls and columns. Most conventional shipping and display containers, however, can not make viable use of these display areas since the containers are not designed for upright use, do not have hanging means, or both. Enumerable advantages can be realized through the use of upright containers with access panels, with or without hanging means. Further, since store display space is limited, it would be even more advantageous if different products could be “bundled” together prior to receipt at the point of sale for display at the point of sale. This would provide customizable consumer displays for the bundling of various consumer products for point of sale distribution. For example, a maker of confectioneries could bundle one carton containing a plurality of one type of candy bar, another carton containing a plurality of a different type of candy bar, and yet another carton containing another consumer product in a common support having promotional and/or seasonal graphics printed thereon. The cartons within the support could have generic and/or product-related graphics printed thereon; so, when the promotion is over, the seller could easily remove the cartons from the support and continue to sell products from the individual generically-decorated cartons. Obviously, substantial savings could be realized by the product distributer since the distributer would no longer have to print cartons with seasonal an/or promotional graphics thereon. The distributor would print generic cartons and or cartons with product-related information. Seasonal and/or promotional graphics would be printed on the support reducing costs associated with ever-changing carton graphics. Also, assembly of the displays would not be labor intensive for the distributer even though sellers order custom displays with seller selected products contained therein. The seller would receive an assembled custom display that requires little or no labor prior to being displayed and a display that is easy to disassemble into individual product cartons when the seller desires or after a promotion is over.
Sellers have designed cartons with access panels, dispensation areas, and hanging means. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,121,511; 3,207,380; 3,265,246; 3,278,080; 3,528,597; 3,593,908; 3,747,833; 3,944,128; 4,186,866; 4,646,937; 5,458,272; 5,857,586; 6,189,778; 6,216,944; and, European Patent No. 0 295 503. Unfortunately, none of these prior art references disclose a singular, customizable common module support to be shared by more than one carton, each having a radially-openable access panel, and/or assembly of various sizes of carton modules in a module support that allows for easy assembly and disassembly.
Accordingly, the need remains for a way to customizably “bundle” more than one multi-unit product container in a manner that makes use of underutilized store display areas, allows the products to be more obvious to consumers, and is easy to assemble, ship, display, and disassemble, while maintaining or increasing consumer accessibility of the products housed within the product carton.